Radiofrequency identification equipped medical cabinet systems and methods of assembly and use thereof

ABSTRACT

An RFID-enabled storage container and systems and methods for assembly and use thereof. The RFID-enabled storage container may include adjustable shelving with built-in antennas, such that the shelving may be customized as may be needed. The system may include a storage container, an inventory management system, and one or more point of use terminals. The storage container may identify and check inventory stored thereon, and provide such information to the inventory management system. The storage container may notify the inventory management system when a product is no longer detected within its inventory, and the inventory management system may monitor the one or more point of use terminals to determine if the undetected product has been used at one of the point of use terminals. The inventory management system may also predict inventory needs as well as maintain age and other data for inventory and provide feedback via an illumination indication.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to radiofrequencyidentification (RFID) enabled storage containers and systems and methodsfor assembly and use thereof.

SUMMARY

This background and summary are provided to introduce a selection ofconcepts in a simplified form that are further described below in theDetailed Description. This background and summary are not intended toidentify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor are theyintended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimedsubject matter. RFID tags take the form of integrated circuits, withassociated antennas, that have computer readable memory encoded withunique serial numbers (USNs), also referred to as unique identificationnumbers (UIDs). RFID tags typically can be encoded with otherinformation in addition to unique serial numbers, either at the time ofmanufacture or thereafter, by writing data to a writeable or re-writablecomputer readable memory of the RFID tag. RFID tags are frequently usedto identify and track objects. For example, RFID tags may be attached toany suitable object that may be tracked. RFID tags may uniquely identifytheir host object by associating the tag's UID with the object in adatabase or by writing information that identifies the object to thememory of the RFID tag. Such information may include an electronicproduct code (EPC), product serial number, manufacturing location,and/or any other information or code associated with the object.

An RFID tag reader may include or be coupled to an antenna used togenerate a carrier signal that energizes the RFID tag antenna when theRFID tag is energized by the electromagnetic field generated by thereader's antenna. The energized RFID tag may generate a data signal thatis transmitted by the tag's antenna and received by the RFID reader'santenna. The reader and/or its associated antenna may be in a fixedlocation or may be mobile, such as carried by an operator. For example,RFID readers are often placed at multiple, distributed locationsassociated within a supply chain in order to monitor the items havingRFID devices placed thereon as they pass through manufacturing,transportation, distribution, storage, to consumption. Each reader maycapture the UID of the RFID tag associated with each item as the RFIDtag enters the reader's interrogation field, and data collected from allreaders facilitates item tracking over time, through and within thesupply chain.

Medical item cabinets may be equipped with one or more RFID readers tointerrogate and read the contents of the RFID tags associated with theitems stored in or near the cabinet to monitor or track the taggeditems. Such cabinets typically include a computer (i.e., centralprocessing unit (CPU)) that processes and/or stores information readfrom the RFID tags and serves as the communication hub for the cabinet.These cabinets are typically coupled via a primary communication channelto the Internet or other communications network (e.g., servers in a“cloud”) using a wired or wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi) network adapter coupledto the cabinet's computer. This primary communication channel may beused to communicate information among the cabinet and remotely locatedservers or other computer systems, such as an inventory managementsystem, for several purposes, including to: (i) send information readfrom medical item tags (i.e., bar code or RFID tags) from the cabinet tothe cloud during or after a cabinet inventory read cycle; (ii) modifycabinet settings, such as the frequency of inventory read cycles; (iii)update software or firmware on the cabinet remotely; and/or (iv) senddiagnostic commands to assess problems and obtain diagnostic informationand logs.

RFID-enabled storage cabinets may allow real-time tracking of inventory.Using information obtained from RFID-enabled storage cabinets, inventorymanagers may be able to determine and/or infer what product inventorythey have at a given location without manually tracking productinventory. Although conventional RFID-enabled storage cabinets may becustomized such that they may be configured to accommodate boxedproducts, hanging products, doors, drawers, splitter shelves, etc.,these RFID-enabled storage cabinets of the related art often may not bereadily modified after manufacturing. That is, storage components ofconventional RFID-enabled storage cabinets may be fixed in part due tothe mechanical antenna elements used to traverse the storage componentsto scan for stored products.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to an RFID-enabled storagecontainer and systems and methods for assembly and use thereof In someimplementations, an RFID-enabled storage container in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure may include adjustable shelving withbuilt-in antennas, such that the shelving may be repositioned within thecontainer as may be needed after the RFID-enabled storage container ismanufactured. In some implementations, aspects of this customization maybe achieved using storage components, e.g., shelving, dividers, ordrawers having built-in antennas.

The systems and methods may include one or more devices, such as one ormore computers or other terminal devices and/or computer systems, formanaging inventory using the RFID-enabled storage container, among otherfunctions. The system may include features for: (i) receiving ultrahighfrequency (UHF) and/or high frequency (HF) RFID signals and/or lowfrequency (LF) RFID signals including information associated with aplurality of products stored in the RFID-enabled storage container, (ii)associating additional information relating thereto, such as containeridentification and/or location information, and/or product location,quantity, and/or condition information, (iii) verifying or otherwiseanalyzing information received based on the RFID type (UHF, HF and LF),and/or (iv) monitoring the state of the products until finaldisposition.

Additional advantages and novel features of the systems and methods ofthe present disclosure will be set forth in part in the description thatfollows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in theart upon examination of the following or upon learning by practice ofthe disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the descriptions that follow, like parts are marked throughout thespecification and drawings with the same numerals, respectively. Thedrawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and certain drawings may beshown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest of clarity andconciseness. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred modeof use, further features and advances thereof, will be understood byreference to the following detailed description of illustrativeimplementations of the disclosure when read in conjunction withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B and 3 illustrate views of various features implementedwith an example storage container in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 4-5 illustrate an example control unit for use in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates various features of an example storage container inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate internal views of various features of oneexample implementation of shelves of an example storage container,including a shelf-located controller, in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 9-10 illustrate an example antenna circuit of one of the shelvesof an example storage container in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 11-12 illustrate an example arrangement of various components ofan example storage container in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates various features for an example network for managinginventory in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 illustrates various features of an example computer system foruse in conjunction with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate an example flowchart for managing inventoryin accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 illustrates another example flowchart for managing inventory inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 17 illustrates a block diagram of various example system componentsfor use in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein.The definitions include various examples and/or forms of components thatfall within the scope of a term and that may be used for implementation.The examples are not intended to be limiting.

A “processor,” as used herein, processes signals and performs generalcomputing and arithmetic functions. Signals processed by the processormay include digital signals, data signals, computer instructions,processor instructions, messages, a bit, a bit stream, or othercomputing that may be received, transmitted and/or detected.

A “bus,” as used herein, refers to an interconnected architecture thatis operably connected to transfer data between computer componentswithin a singular or multiple systems. The bus may be a memory bus, amemory controller, a peripheral bus, an external bus, a crossbar switch,and/or a local bus, among others. The bus may also be a vehicle bus thatinterconnects components inside a vehicle using protocols, such asController Area network (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN), amongothers.

A “memory,” as used herein may include volatile memory and/ornon-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include, for example, ROM(read only memory), PROM (programmable read only memory), EPROM(erasable PROM) and EEPROM (electrically erasable PROM). Volatile memorymay include, for example, RAM (random access memory), synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), and/or direct RAM bus RAM (DRRAM).

An “operable connection,” as used herein may include a connection bywhich entities are “operably connected,” is one in which signals,physical communications, and/or logical communications may be sentand/or received. An operable connection may include a physicalinterface, a data interface and/or an electrical interface.

A “wired or wireless connectivity,” as used herein may include auniversal serial bus (USB) connection, Wi-Fi connection, Bluetooth orBluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connection, Ethernet connection, cableconnection, digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, cellularconnection (e.g., 3G, LTE/4G or 5G), or other suitable connections. Thewired or wireless connectivity may communicative with a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a cellular network, a WiFinetwork, a satellite network, an intranet, a metropolitan area network(MAN), the global Internet, a wired network, a wireless network, or anycombination thereof.

As generally described herein, aspects of the present disclosure mayprovide for an RFID-enabled storage container and systems and methodsfor assembly and use thereof. For instance, an example system inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure may provide fortracking and/or monitoring of products through the supply chain andlifecycle of a product. This tracking/monitoring may be achieved usingan RFID tag that enables various features and/or systems in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure to track the location of and/ormonitor the status of one or more products at various locations andtimes throughout the supply chain, storage, and/or use of the products.Information collected with the assistance of the RFID tag may be used toprovide analytics and insights into the supply chain, inventorymanagement, and use of tagged products, among other uses. Additionally,the example system may track a variety of products from various originsand points of entry into the system, for example, wherein the productsmay have a variety of RFID tag types affixed thereto. Thus, the systemmay track products having LF RFID tags, HF RFID tags, or UHF RFID tags(and/or other tags, such as bar codes or other optical tags).Furthermore, various aspects of example systems may dynamically andautomatically adapt to various product types, tags, and readerenvironments, among other features, in order to facilitate inventorytracking and reporting. Such techniques and/or other examples oftechniques for managing inventory through the supply chain and lifecycleof a product are described, for example, in further detail in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/543,246, filed on Aug. 16, 2019, toLeitermann et al., the contents of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety.

One example storage container 100 and various features usable orimplemented therewith, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure, are illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B and 3. In this example,storage container 100 may comprise a cabinet configured to store itemsassociated with RFID tags, to read information from the RFID tags ofstored items, and to communicate information associated with the tags,the products, and/or the storage container 100 to an inventorymanagement system. In some implementations, the storage container 100may be mobile, such that it may be relocated, rather than beingpermanently affixed to a single location after installation. In otherimplementations, the storage container may comprise an Office ofStatewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) seismic mount forspecific state building codes to protect the container from falling overduring an earthquake. The storage container 100 may include a housing110 having a plurality of slots 120 configured to support and/or providecommunications with a respective shelf 130 located there within. In thisway, the number of shelves 130 and spacing between each pair of adjacentshelves 130 implemented in the storage container 100 may be customizedbased on user needs and/or a size of an object stored thereon, forexample.

In some implementations, the storage container may include one or morehanging features 145 for hanging one or more products, as illustrated inFIG. 2A. For example, an RFID tag may be applied to one or more productsstored in the storage container 100. The RFID tags may be formed in avariety of designs, for example, the RFID tag may be designed to bedirectly attached onto a surface of a product by lying flat, or the RFIDtag may be designed to partially attach to a product by partlyoverhanging on an edge in order to be used in conjunction with thehanging features 145 (see, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/258,847, filed on Oct. 27, 2008, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 8,174,392,the contents of both of which are hereby incorporated in their entiretyherein by reference). In some implantations, the storage container mayalso include one or more accessory standing bin(s) 147 forcontaining/holding one or more taller products that may not be readilyaccommodated by the hanging features 145 or the shelves 130, asillustrated in FIG. 2B. In one aspect, the accessory standing bin 147may be removable, for example via wheels, from the overall storagecontainer 100. The removability of the standing bin 147 may provideusers access to the larger products that are contained in the standingbin 147, for example, allowing users to place and/or remove the largerproducts from the standing bin 147 contained within the storagecontainer 100.

In some implementations, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a bottom shelf 130a,for example, may be designed to at least partially conceal additionalhardware components and/or software features that interact with other,corresponding features of the storage container.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, some of the shelf features mayoptionally include a status light 132 to indicate the status of productsstored and/or identified on that or a nearby shelf 130. In someinstances, the status light 132 may be placed on a front face of theshelf 130, such that the status light is readily visible to an observerof the storage container 100. The status light 132 may indicate whetherthere are missing products, expired products, and/or products nearexpiration, for example. Alternatively, the status light 132 mayindicate that there are no such issues with any of the products storedand identified on a shelf 130. In another aspect of the disclosure, thestatus light may provide an indication of the operating status of aspecific shelf 130 and/or container. For example, the status light 132may flash, thereby indicating that the shelf is being activated (e.g.,is powered or otherwise operable), and/or has been placed in an activestate. In another example, the status light 132 may provide anindication that the container is rebooting and/or in a start-up orshut-down state. In another example, the status light 132, may indicatean error with the shelf or shelves; for example, the status light 132may indicate that a shelf is not properly connected to the storagecontainer 100, or is not in communication with the storage container100. The status light 132 may be implemented in a variety of colors,intensities, sequences, etc. The status light 132 may comprise lightemitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), or othersuitable types of illumination devices.

Additionally, as further illustrated in FIG. 1, in some implementations,each shelf 130 may also include one or more tracking light(s) 134, whichmay be used, for example, to illuminate nearby products or to indicatethe location(s) of one or more products within the storage container100. In an aspect of the disclosure, the tracking lights 134 may beaffixed to the front of the specific shelf or may be affixed to thebottom of the specific shelf. For example, an illuminated tracking light134 may be affixed to a front of a shelf 130 and may be implemented tovisually indicate information about a product or a correspondinglocation of a specific product using an illuminated tracking light 134.For example, the tracking light 134 may be affixed to the front of theshelf to provide a visual indication of the status (e.g., expirationstatus) of one or more products to a user. Further, in another example,an illuminated tracking light 134 may be affixed to a bottom of a shelfand may be used to visually indicate and illuminate a location (e.g.,the positon of a product located on a shelf below a portion of theilluminated tracking light). For example, the tracking light 134 may beaffixed to the bottom of the shelf thereby indirectly illumining an areato identify a product location and/or status of a product to a user.

In one aspect of the disclosure, the illuminated tracking light 134 maybe controlled by the controller 180 and/or the control unit 140, asdescribed further below with reference to FIGS. 7-12, and may becontrolled in conjunction with operation of an inventory managementsystem 1120, as described further below with reference to FIG. 13. Forexample, the tracking light 134 may be activated to provide andilluminate at different levels of intensity, different colors, differentportions, different times and/or a combination thereof. In one aspect ofthe disclosure, the tracking light 134 may provide visual indications toa user for location identification purposes. For example, based upon thelocation of a product (e.g., as identified by various features of thestorage container), the tracking light 134 may be controlled by thecontroller 180 and/or the system (e.g., inventory management system 1120of FIG. 13) to provide indication of the location of the product. Forexample, a user may wish to find product A within storage container 1.Product A may be located, based on a previous or current read of thestorage container 1, at or near the front left side of shelf 1. Thetracking light 134 may then be controlled to illuminate in a white colorat a brightness of 50%, for example, on the left side portion of shelf 1so as to indicate to the user the location of the requested product A.In one aspect of the disclosure, a user may request a specific productlocation to be indicated by activating the tracking light 134, or thetracking light 134 may be automatically activated based upon specificprogramming events. For example, product B may be located, based on aprevious or current read of the storage container 100, at or near thefront right side of shelf 2. The system (e.g., system 1100 of FIG. 13)may determine that product B may be near its expiration date, and as aresult of this determination, the system may trigger activation oftracking light 134. The tracking light 134 may be controlled toilluminate at a brightness of 100% for 1 second and a brightness of 0%for 1 second (i.e., flashing), for example, in a yellow color on theright side portion of shelf 2. Such operation may readily indicate tothe user that the product is located in the position highlighted andthat the product is about to expire.

In another aspect of the disclosure, the tracking light 134 may providevisual indications to a user for other inventory purposes. For example,the tracking light 134 may be automatically activated based uponspecific programming events regarding inventory within the storagecontainer 100. In this example, the tracking light 134 may automaticallybe activated based upon the quantity of specific products read by thestorage container 100, as compared to a threshold or a plurality ofthresholds. Thus, for example, if the quantity of a specific productdrops below a first threshold, the tracking light 134 may automaticallybe activated to indicate that the product quantity is less than thedesired amount to be stored within the storage container 100. In anotherexample, if the quantity of a specific product drops below a minimalstorage amount threshold, the tracking light 134 may automaticallyactivate to indicate to a user that a product quantity is at acritically low level. For example, if any specific product quantitywithin the storage container is 5 or less, the tracking light 134 may beactivated to indicate that the product is running low (for example, aportion of the tracking light on a specific shelf for which the productis located illuminates to yellow). In another example, if any specificproduct quantity within the storage container is 2 or less, the trackinglight 134 may be activated indicating the product is nearing completeexhaustion (for example, a portion of the tracking light on a specificshelf for which the product was previously located illumined to red).

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a user may request aspecific visual inventory count to be indicated by activating thetracking light 134 on demand. For example, products of variety B (forexample, catheters) may be located, based on a previous or current readof the storage container 100, at or near the front right side of shelf2. The system (e.g., system 1100 of FIG. 13) may determine that productsof the variety of B are low in comparison to a threshold, and thereforemay trigger the activation of low supply tracking light 134. The lowsupply tracking light 134 may be controlled to illuminate at abrightness of 100%, in a yellow color on the right side portion of shelf2, so as to indicate that products of a variety of B are running low incomparison to the threshold.

The tracking light 134 may be implemented in a variety of colors,intensities, sequences, etc. The tracking light 134 may comprise LEDs,OLEDs, or other suitable types of illumination devices. Further, asdescribed above, the tracking light 134 may be set with specificillumination programing patterns and/or sequences generated duringconstruction of the device and/or updated dynamically based upon arequest by a user. For example, the tracking light 134 in conjunctionwith the controller 180, the control unit 140 and/or the inventorymanagement system 1120 may be pre-programed with default specificthreshold levels, indication sequences, etc. (for example, illuminingyellow when the product quantity is low). In another example, a user ofthe storage container 100 may change the pre-programed defaults on sitedynamically (for example, adjusting the tracking light 134 to flashfaster when illuminating, changing colors in a different pattern basedupon an expired product, etc.).

In some aspects, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the storage container100 may include a control unit 140 that may be communicatively coupledto the shelves 130 housed within the plurality of slots 120. In someimplementations, the bottom shelf 130a (FIG. 3), for example, may alsobe used to cover and/or partially contain one or more features of thecontrol unit 140. The control unit 140 may include an internal powersupply 146, such as a battery, and/or may be coupled to an externalpower supply. In one aspect of the disclosure, if a storage container100 is disconnected from the power supply (for example, the power supply146 is actively disconnected, a loss of power from the grid occurs,and/or a system failure occurs), an automatic “last gasp” error messagemay be transmitted, such as via wired or wireless communication with anearby storage container. For example, when a storage container 100 isunplugged, turned off, or disconnected from the primary wired networkport, a determination may be made only that the storage container 100 isno longer coupled to or communicating with other components, and it maynot be possible to determine why or what went wrong so as to cause suchfailure. However, a battery backup may be capable of running the storagecontainer 100 for a period of time after the storage container 100 hasbeen disconnected from the power supply. The “last gasp” message maythus be sent to a nearby storage container 100′. The “last gasp” messagemay contain data, for example, indicating that a user has purposivelyturned off the storage container 100, a user has purposively unpluggedthe storage container 100 from the power supply, or the storagecontainer 100 has some other failure such that the container 100 is nolonger able to be communicated with. A notification may then begenerated so as to allow the failure to be corrected and/or otherwiseaddressed.

In another aspect of the disclosure, the storage container 100 maycomprise wired or wireless connectivity to aid in the processes ofrunning diagnostics, initially setting-up the network settings of eachstorage container, providing upgrades to software (for example, updateand/or replace the operating software), and/or retrieving and enablingreview of storage container logs. For example, the storage container 100(FIG. 1) may be capable of directly communicating wirelessly, viaBluetooth®, with mobile device 1150 illustrated in FIG. 13. The mobiledevice 1150 may comprise a proprietary application (App), that mayprovide a user with access to settings of the specific storage container100 during a configuration process, set-up process, re-configurationprocess, etc.

Referring to FIG. 5, the control unit 140 may also include an RFIDreader 142 for generating carrier signals to energize the RFID tags andfor reading the data signal transmitted or reflected by each tag'santenna in response to being energized. This energizing and readingprocess may be referred to as “conducting a scan.” In one aspect of thedisclosure, the storage container 100 (FIG. 1) in conjunction withoperation of the inventory management system 1120 of FIG. 13, mayprovide, for example, for detection and correction of operational“flicker.” Such flicker may be characterized as occurring when RFID tagsare not consistently read by a storage container 100 because the RFIDtags may be on the threshold of readability, for example. Thus, someRFID tags may be read by the RFID reader 142 during one or more scans,but the same tag may not be read by the RFID reader 142 during one ormore other scans. A determination may then be made that a flicker of atag or tags has occurred. In one aspect of the disclosure, the storagecontainer in conjunction with processing via the inventory managementsystem 1120 of FIG. 13, for example, may determine that a varying numberof RFID tags are read between subsequent scans at the same operatingpower levels, and thus a flicker may have occurred. For example, a firstscan may occur at 12:01 AM at 1 watt, when 50 discrete RFID tags may beread. A second scan may occur at 12:04 AM at 1 watt, when 48 discreteRFID tags may be read. A third scan may occur at 12:07 AM at 1 watt,when 49 discrete RFID tags may read. A determination may then be madethat a flicker has occurred based upon the quantity of the RFID tagsread changing repeatedly with the scans conducted.

In another aspect of the disclosure, the storage container inconjunction with the inventory management system 1120 of FIG. 13,described below, a determination may be made that a varying number ofRFID tags are read between subsequent scans at differing operating powerlevels, and thus a flicker may have occurred.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a determination may be made by astorage container 100 that a flicker may have occurred, and an attemptmay be made to correct the flicker by adjusting the storage cabinet to ahigher operating power level for one or more subsequent scans. In oneaspect of the disclosure, a higher operating power level of scans mayallow for proper reading of all tags contained within the storagecontainer 100. For example, the storage container 100 may initiallyoperate at an operating power level of ¼ watt, and based on thedetermined flicker, the storage container may increase the operatingpower level to 1 watt for one or more subsequent scans. As an examplealternative to varying the power level, the storage container 100 mayalso vary the RFID read strategy. Varying read strategies, and othersimilar techniques for identifying and addressing flicker, along withfiltering cross-reads of RFID tags are described, for example, infurther detail in U.S. Patent Application No. 62/936,114, filed on Nov.15, 2019, to Richard Leitermann et al., which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

As illustrated in the example implementation of FIG. 6, each of theshelves 130 may be communicatively coupled to a control unit 140 (FIGS.4 and 5) using a wired coupling 150. For example, the wired coupling 150may be or include a standard RJ-45 twisted pair Ethernet cable. The RFIDsignals generated by the reader 142 may be transmitted via one or moreof the twisted pairs of the Ethernet cable, and the remaining twistedpairs may be used, for example, to communicate control signals to eachof the shelves 130. In order to maintain consistent power and frequencyof the signals communicated among the control unit 140 and the shelves130, the length of each wired coupling 150 may be made constant,regardless of a location of a respective shelf 130 relative to thelocation of the control unit 140. The use of a constant length for thewired couplings 150 may help control distortion in signals by minimizingelectrical variation that would otherwise occur if differing lengths ofwired couplings 150 were used (e.g., due to the difference in resistanceand other radio frequency effects potentially produced by differentlengths of such wired connections).

Additionally, the wired couplings 150 may be connected with the controlunit 140 in a specific order, such that the control unit 140 maydetermine the position of a given shelf relative to the other shelves130 based on which wired coupling is being used. To achieve this result,each of the wired couplings 150 (for example, 12 separate wiredcouplings contained in each housing 110) may be attached in a mannerthat allows for the wired coupling 150 to be connected to shelves 130only within a limited range of slots 120 in the housing 110. Forexample, the cable of each wired coupling 150 may be secured to theframe of the storage container 100 or otherwise constrained at alocation near an end of the wired coupling 150. By limiting the lengthof the cable available for connecting the shelf 130 in the housing 110,the position of the shelf 130 may also be constrained. For example, bylimiting the distance of the cable secured to the housing, the shelf 130may be placed in a designated range of distances, which are determinedby the length of the cable. A user will thus be provided with limitedoptions regarding placement of the shelf 130 once the shelf is connectedto the wired coupling 150. User error relating to the placement of theshelf 130 within the housing may thus be reduced.

In one aspect of the disclosure, to confirm that the shelves 130 areproperly ordered (for example, from top to bottom, shelf 1 to shelf 12),the control unit 140 may sequentially illuminate the status light ofeach shelf (e.g., at the time of installation, rebooting the storagecontainer 100, addition or removal of a shelf, etc.). Each shelf 130 mayalso or alternatively include a display configured to display a numberor other symbol indicative of the shelf's order relative to othershelves as determined by the control unit 140. In one aspect of thedisclosure, any shelf 130 may be placed and connected to any wiredcoupling 150. As described above in relation to the length of the cable,the shelf 130 may be placed within a corresponding slot 120. Forexample, any shelf 130 may be identified by the system as shelf 1, andthe shelf may later be moved and re-attached and identified as shelf 8.Thus, although each shelf 130 may include a specific serial number fortracking and maintenance purposes, any shelf 130 may be placed withinany housing 110 and within any slot 120 (based on the constraints of thewired coupling 150, described above). The discovery and enumerationprocess of the connected shelves to the wired couplings 150 may alsooccur, for example, at the time of installation, rebooting the storagecontainer 100, addition or removal of a shelf, etc. Upon the discoveryand enumeration process, the control unit 140 may transmit a signal (forexample, the quantity of the shelves 130 connected to the wiredcouplings 150, the placement of the shelves within the housing 110,serial numbers, etc.) to inventory management system 1120 indicating theidentity and arrangement of the storage container 100.

In another aspect of the disclosure, although the housing 110 maycontain a plurality of wired couplings 150 (e.g., 12 wired couplings),not all of the wired couplings may be connected to a shelf, that is, notall couplings must be used. Thus, the numbering arrangement of the shelf130 within the housing 110 may be determined by the total number ofoverall connected shelves. For example, wired coupling 150, labeled from1-12 may only have shelves 130 attached at even connections (i.e., 2, 4,6, 8, 10, 12). Thus, shelves placed at wired couplings 2, 4, 6, 8, 10and 12 may be recognized by the control unit 140 as shelves 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, respectively.

To adjust the location of the shelves 130, the storage container 100 mayinclude one or more removable faceplates 160 that conceal the wiredcouplings 150. The removable faceplates 160 may be removed using, forexample, a hex screwdriver and/or other features that may discourageready access by unauthorized personnel.

To troubleshoot/repair the storage container, the control unit 140 mayinclude a communication module 148, as illustrated in FIG. 5, forcommunicating with an external device in proximity to the storagecontainer 100, such as a laptop or mobile device 1150 (FIG. 13). Thecommunication module 148 may include a wired connector, such as anEthernet or universal serial bus (USB) connector, and/or thecommunication module may include a wireless network adapter forcommunicating with a mobile or other device wirelessly, such as via aBluetooth, Wi-Fi, or NFC connection (see, e.g., U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/455,065, filed on Mar. 9, 2017, now issued U.S. Pat. No.10,115,073, the contents of which are hereby incorporated in theirentirety herein by reference). In this way, a technician may readilyconfigure the storage container 100 (FIG. 1) for operation, obtaindiagnostic information for help with identifying any issues with properoperation of the storage container 100 (FIG. 1), and/or carry outoperations to repair the storage container 100 (FIG. 1). Alternatively,or additionally, the control unit 140 may communicate diagnosticinformation via a remote server over a network, such that the technicianmay attempt to resolve any operational issues remotely or prepare toresolve such issues upon accessing the device locally. The control unit140 may also optionally, for example, cause the status light 132(FIG. 1) to illuminate in order to identify a shelf in need of repair,replacement, or other service.

Referring to the example aspect of the disclosure as illustrated inFIGS. 7-12, each shelf 130 may include an array of antennas 190 and ashelf-located controller 180 for communicating with the control unit 140and for controlling the array of antennas 190, for example. Theshelf-located controller 180 may be coupled to the control unit 140 viawired coupling 150 and may also be coupled via wired or wirelessconnectivity 186 to one or more antenna circuits 192 of the shelf 130.Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the one or more antennacircuits 192 may be combined within a single circuit within a singlecircuit board. Each antenna circuit 192, or the single antenna circuit,may be coupled to one or more antenna loops 194 of the array of antennas190, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 10,the one or more physical antenna loops 194 of FIG. 9, may be replaced bycopper traces onto a single circuit board for example. The shelf-locatedcontroller 180 may be configured to communicate the RFID signalsgenerated by the reader 142 to each antenna circuit 192. The antennacircuits 192 may be powered via the wired connection 186 to theshelf-located controller 180, which in turn may receive power from thecontrol unit 140 via wired coupling 150. Alternatively, theshelf-located controller 180 may be powered by a separate external powersupply or a separate internal power source, such as a battery.

Referring to FIG. 11, each antenna circuit 192 may be coupled to twoantenna loops 194. Each antenna circuit 192 may include one or moretuning circuits 196 configured to tune each connected antenna loop 194to an appropriate frequency for reading corresponding RFID tags. Eachantenna circuit 192 may also include one or more tuning relays 198configured, for example, to: (i) couple the associated antenna loop 194with the tuning circuit 196 to tune each antenna loop 194 to the desiredfrequency; or (ii) de-couple the associated antenna loop 194 from thetuning circuit 196, such that the associated antenna loop 194 is an opencircuit that does not substantially interfere with RF emitted viaoperating antenna loops of the array. Each antenna circuit 192 may alsoinclude one or more signal relays 199 configured to either power-on theassociated antenna loop 194 by connecting the antenna loop 194 with theRFID signals generated by the reader 142 or power-off the associatedantenna loop 194 by disconnecting the antenna loop 194 from the RFIDsignals, which are generated by the reader 142 transmitted via the wiredcoupling 150 to the shelf-located controller 180 and via wiredconnection 186 to the antenna circuits 192.

The shelf-located controller 180 may include a processor 181 forprocessing communications from the control unit 140 and for controllingthe tuning relays 198 and signal relays 199 of the antenna circuit 192.For example, the shelf-located controller 180 may receive instructionsfrom the control unit 140 via the wired coupling 150. Based on thereceived instructions, the shelf-located controller 180 may initiate aread cycle in which the shelf-located controller 180 may control therelays 198, 199 via wired connection 186 to cause each antenna loop 194to connect with the tuning circuit 196 and power-on to read nearby RFIDtags, then power-off and detune in a sequential manner, such that eachantenna loop 194 of the array of antennas 190 is tuned and powered-on toread nearby RFID tags while the other antenna loops 194 are detuned anddisconnected from the RFID signals generated by the reader 142. Invarious aspects of the disclosure, one or more of the antenna loops 194may be disconnected from the RFID signals, but may remain tuned (i.e.,connected to the tuning circuit 196), in a manner so as to alter theelectromagnetic field of a nearby antenna loop while the nearby antennaloop is tuned and powered for a read cycle. In various aspects, morethan one antenna loop 194 of the array of antennas 190 may be tunedcontemporaneously. In various aspects, one or more antenna loops ofdifferent shelves 130 may be tuned sequentially and/or contemporaneouslyin any desired combination or sequence. In various aspects, one or moreantenna loops of different shelves 130 may powered-on sequentially inany desired combination or sequence.

In various aspects of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIGS.9-12, each antenna loop 194 may be generally oriented along a horizontalplane. A portion of the loop of each antenna loop 194 may overlap aportion of the loop of one or more of the other antenna loops 194 of thearray of antennas 190. Due to the overlapping antenna loops 194, theresulting aggregate coverage of the field or signal emitted from theantenna loops 194 may be improved. In addition, the antenna loops 194may be powered according to a specified pattern. For example, in oneaspect of the disclosure, a first antenna loop 194 a may be tuned andpowered-on to obtain signals from RFID tags within the electromagneticfield emitted by the first antenna loop 194 a. After powering-off thefirst antenna loop 194 a, an adjacent second antenna loop 194 b may betuned and powered-on to obtain signals from RFID tags within theelectromagnetic field emitted by the second antenna loop 194 b. Sincethe spatial area of the electromagnetic field of the first antenna loop194 a overlaps the spatial area of the electromagnetic field of thesecond antenna loop 194 b, if an RFID tag is positioned and oriented ina “dead spot” such that the electromagnetic field of the first antennaloop 194 a has a low probability of reading the tag, then it is unlikelythat the tag will also be in a “dead spot” of the electromagnetic fieldof the second antenna loop 194 b. Of course, in this arrangement,certain RFID tags will be read by multiple antenna loops 194, but thecontrol unit 140 or inventory management system 1120 may be equippedwith appropriate hardware and/or software to identify and eliminateduplicate reads.

As further illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, each antenna loop 194 of thearray of antennas 190 may be formed from or include conductive wire andmay be positioned in a channel formed in a layer of material interposedbetween upper and lower surfaces of the shelf 130. Each shelf 130 mayalso include an insulation layer 185 covering the array of antennas 190.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 10, an insulation layer may not beneeded based upon the single circuit board implementation. In one aspectof the disclosure, and as further illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 12, theantenna loops 194, along with the additional elements described inconjunction with shelves 130 of FIG. 11 as described above, may beprinted on a single circuit board or other substrate. For example, allof the PCBs, cabling and RF Loop wires as referenced in conjunction withshelves 130 of FIG. 11, may be combined into a single board. The singlecircuit board comprising each respective shelf 130, may be roughly24″×30″, for example. The single circuit board may be positioned in achannel formed in a layer of material interposed between upper surface101 and lower surface 103 of the shelf 130.

In various aspects, one or more antenna loops 194 may be oriented alongplanes that are approximately orthogonal to or oblique to the otherantenna loops 194 of the array of antennas 190. Moreover, one or moreadditional arrays of antennas may be oriented along approximatelyorthogonal or oblique planes with respect to the other arrays ofantennas of the storage container. In this manner, “dead spots” in ornear the storage container may be reduced or eliminated. In use, forexample, the control unit 140 (FIG. 11). may transmit a high frequency(HF) signal to one or more of the shelves 130 (FIG. 1), such as at afrequency between approximately 3 and 36 megahertz (MHz). In anotherexample implementation, the control unit 140 may transmit an UHF signal(e.g., at, near, or via one or more of the shelves or at anotherlocation in the storage container), such as at a frequency betweenapproximately 300 MHz and 3 GHz. In another example implementation, thecontrol unit 140 may transmit a LF signal at a frequency betweenapproximately 30 kHz and 300 kHz, for example. In yet another exampleimplementation, the control unit 140 may also include an attenuator forselectively reducing the power of the signal communicated with theshelves 130. For example, the nominal power may be about 1 to 5 Watts,and the attenuator may reduce the power to about 25% of the nominalpower for a subsequent read cycle. By reducing the power selectively,the control unit 140 may be used to more accurately determine thelocation of a given product. For example, the reduced power may resultin RFID tags being identified only by one or more antenna loops that aretypically in closest proximity to each RFID tag. In some instances, eachshelf 130 (FIG. 1) may be equipped with one or more calibration RFIDtags (not shown) affixed to the shelf. The calibration RFID tags, amongother things, may be used to confirm proper operation of each of theantenna loops, the presence of a shelf in proximity to the othershelves, and/or the location of a shelf relative to the other shelves.

By adjusting the power level of the signals transmitted to the shelves130, of FIG. 1, for example, various features of the storage container100 may be used determine or estimate a location of a given product. Forexample, the power level of the transmitted signal may be increasedand/or decreased to determine a threshold readability of RFID tagsproximal to each shelf or portion of each shelf (e.g., to assist inconfirming and/or inferring the location of each product having an RFIDtag attached thereto). In further implementations, by sequentiallytuning and powering-on each of the antenna loops and/or by adjusting thepower level of the transmitted signals, various features of the storagecontainer 100 may be used to determine a location of a given productbased on which antenna loop detected a response from the RFID tagsand/or relative signal strength. For example, if a plurality of antennaloops each detect a response from the RFID tag, the power level of thetransmitted signal for each antenna loop may be selectively reduced tonarrow down which antenna loop(s) detect a response at differing powerlevels, in order to determine the likely location of the product; forexample, the product may be located on a shelf nearest the antenna loopthat detected the product at the lowest transmitted signal level. Inthis way, various features of the storage container 100 may be used toresolve multiple “claims” to an RFID tag when the same tag is read bymore than one antenna loop.

Furthermore, by using individual antenna loops arranged in a specifiedpattern, a depth within the shelf of (and/or distance to) the detectedproduct may be determined or estimated. For example, if a first loop ofa pair of antennas is positioned toward a front portion of the shelf anddetects a response from an RFID tag, the second loop positioned toward aback portion of the shelf does not detect a response from the RFID tag,the product may be determined to be likely located toward the frontportion of the shelf (or vice-versa). Thus, the depth on shelf locationof the product may be more accurately determined based on which antennaloop detected a response from the RFID tag. Moreover, informationgathered from antennas of other nearby shelves may be used to helpresolve whether the product is located above or below a particularshelf. This location information may be used, for example, to furthersignal to a user the location of the inventory item (e.g., by lighting aportion of the shelf, such as front or rear, corresponding to theidentified or estimated location).

FIG. 13 illustrates various features in an example system 1100 formanaging inventory in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.For example, system 1100 may include a storage container 1110 (e.g., thestorage container 100 of FIG. 1), an inventory management system 1120,and a point of use terminal 1130, each coupled to one another via anetwork 1140. The system 1100 may also include a terminal 1150, such asa mobile device, that may be selectively communicatively coupled withthe storage container 1110 via wireless connection. The mobile device1150 may also be selectively communicatively coupled with the network1140 via a wireless connection with another terminal 1160 coupled to thenetwork 1140. For example, network 1140 may be used to facilitatecommunications among multiple systems, including the storage container1110, the inventory management system 1120, the point of use terminal1130, and the terminal 1150. In some implementations, the network 1140may include the Internet or another Internet Protocol (IP) basednetwork. The storage container 1110, the inventory management system1120, and/or the point of use terminal 1130 may include one or morecomputer systems, which may include one or more terminals having variousfeatures as shown in FIG. 14 and described in conjunction therewith. Insome implementations, the inventory management system 1120 may alsoinclude a memory that stores instructions for executing processes formanaging inventory, and a processor configured to execute theinstructions.

In some implementations, the storage container 1110 may identify andcheck inventory stored thereon and provide such information to theinventory management system 1120. Additionally, the storage container1110 may also determine when a product is no longer detected within itsinventory and may notify the inventory management system 1120accordingly. Using this information, the inventory management system1120 may monitor one or more point of use terminals 1130 to determinewhether the undetected product has been used by a technician, medicalprofessional, etc., at one or more of the point of use terminals 1130.For example, the RFID tag applied to a product may be scanned to providefor a final disposition at a point-of-sale, a point-of-use, a trashreceptacle, or any other instance when the individual product is removedfrom inventory, and the one or more point of use terminals 1130 mayreport such disposition to the inventory management system 1120. Suchoperations may, for example, include one or more operations described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/765,950, filed on Jun. 20, 2007, nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,281,994, described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/383,422, filed on May 15, 2006, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,639,136, and/or described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/616,630, filed on Nov. 11, 2009, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,990,272, the contents of each of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. As result, a determination may be made by theinventory management system 1120 whether the undetected product has beenused or is missing from the overall inventory, such as may result aspart of an effort to resolve inventory discrepancies and/or updateinventory. Additionally, while the products are stored in the storagecontainer 1110, information related to such products may be transmittedto the inventory management system 1120. In this way, the inventorymanagement system 1120 may monitor each of the products stored by thestorage container 1110 to determine whether there are missing products,expired products, and/or products near expiration, for example.Additionally, the inventory management system 1120 may use thisinformation to, for example, predict inventory needs based on usehistory and maintain age and other data for inventory items (e.g., toidentify expired or out of date items). In some aspects, variousfunctions, such as reconciling which shelf the product is located on,may be performed locally by various components and processors within thestorage container 1110 or may be performed remotely, for example, viathe inventory management system 1120.

Aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware,software, or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or morecomputer systems or other processing systems. In an aspect of thepresent disclosure, features are directed toward one or more computersystems capable of carrying out the functionality described herein. Anexample of such a computer system 1200 is shown in FIG. 14.

Computer system 1200 includes one or more processors, such as processor1204. The processor 1204 is connected to a communication infrastructure1206 (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). Varioussoftware implementations are described in terms of this example computersystem. After reading this description, it will become apparent to aperson skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement implementationsof the disclosure using other computer systems and/or architectures.

Computer system 1200 may include a display interface 1202 that forwardsgraphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure1206 (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit1280. Computer system 1200 also includes a main memory 1208, preferablyrandom access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory1210. The secondary memory 1210 may include, for example, a hard diskdrive 1212, and/or a removable storage drive 1214, representing a floppydisk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a universalserial bus (USB) flash drive, etc. The removable storage drive 1214reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 1218 in awell-known manner. Removable storage unit 1218 represents a floppy disk,magnetic tape, optical disk, USB flash drive etc., which is read by andwritten to removable storage drive 1214. As will be appreciated, theremovable storage unit 1218 includes a computer usable storage mediumhaving stored therein computer software and/or data.

Alternative implementations of the present disclosure may includesecondary memory 1210 and may include other similar devices for allowingcomputer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computersystem 1200. Such devices may include, for example, a removable storageunit 1222 and an interface 1220. Examples of such may include a programcartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video gamedevices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) andassociated socket, and other removable storage units 1222 and interfaces1220, which allow software and data to be transferred from the removablestorage unit 1222 to computer system 1200.

Computer system 1200 may also include a communications interface 1224.Communications interface 1224 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 1200 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 1224 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.Software and data transferred via communications interface 1224 are inthe form of signals 1228, which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 1224. These signals 1228 are provided to communicationsinterface 1224 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 1226. This path1226 carries signals 1228 and may be implemented using wire or cable,fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF)link and/or other communications channels. In this document, the terms“computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to refergenerally to media such as a removable storage unit 1218, a hard diskinstalled in hard disk drive 1212, and signals 1228. These computerprogram products provide software to the computer system 1200.Implementations of the present disclosure are directed to such computerprogram products.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory 1208 and/or secondary memory 1210. Computerprograms may also be received via communications interface 1224. Suchcomputer programs, when executed, enable the computer system 1200 toperform the features in accordance with implementations of the presentdisclosure, as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs,when executed, enable the processor 1204 to perform the features inaccordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Accordingly,such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system1200.

In an aspect of the present disclosure where the disclosure isimplemented using software, the software may be stored in a computerprogram product and loaded into computer system 1200 using removablestorage drive 1214, hard drive 1212, or communications interface 1220.The control logic (software), when executed by the processor 1204,causes the processor 1204 to perform the functions described herein. Inanother aspect of the present disclosure, the system is implementedprimarily in hardware using, for example, hardware components, such asapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of thehardware state machine to perform the functions described herein will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

FIG. 15A illustrates an example method for managing inventory inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The method includestransmitting a radio frequency identification (RFID) signal via aconductive coupling from a control unit to at least one shelf of astorage container 1310. The method further includes transmitting acontrol signal via a conductive coupling from the control unit to ashelf-located controller of the at least one shelf of the storagecontainer 1320. The method also includes receiving the control signal atthe shelf-located controller and based on the control signal received atthe shelf-located controller, and causing a first antenna loop of aplurality of antenna loops of the at least one shelf to couple with theconductive coupling of the RFID signal 1330. The method also includescausing the first antenna loop to decouple from the conductive couplingof the RFID signal 1340, causing a second antenna loop of the pluralityof antenna loops to couple with the conductive coupling of the RFIDsignal 1350, and causing the second antenna loop to decouple from theconductive coupling of the RFID signal 1360.

FIG. 15B further illustrates the example method for managing inventoryin accordance with aspects of the present disclosure and in conjunctionwith FIG. 15A. The method may also include emitting, via the firstantenna loop, a first electromagnetic signal based on the RFID signalwhen the first antenna loop is coupled with the conductive coupling ofthe RFID signal and emitting, via the second antenna loop, a secondelectromagnetic signal based on the RFID signal when the second antennaloop is coupled with the conductive coupling of the RFID signal 1370.The method may further include causing the first antenna loop to betuned to the frequency of the RFID signal, emitting the firstelectromagnetic signal based on the RFID signal, and causing the firstantenna loop to be detuned from the frequency of the RFID signal 1380.The method may also include, based on the control signal received at theshelf-located controller, causing the first antenna loop to be tuned tothe frequency of the RFID signal, emitting the second electromagneticsignal via the second antenna loop while the first antenna loop is tunedto the frequency of the RFID signal and decoupled from the conductivecoupling of the RFID signal 1390. The method may also include receiving,from an RFID device associated with at least one item stored by the atleast one shelf, a response to one or both of the first electromagneticsignal emitted via the first antenna loop and the second electromagneticsignal emitted via the second antenna loop, and transmitting thereceived response to the control unit via the conductive coupling of theRFID signal. The method may also include transmitting, to a server, datarelating to the response transmitted to the control unit 1399.

FIG. 16 illustrates another example method in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The method includes: (i) transmitting a radiofrequency identification (RFID) signal via a conductive coupling from acontrol unit to at least one shelf of a storage container 1410; (ii)transmitting a control signal via a conductive coupling from the controlunit to a shelf-located controller of the at least one shelf of thestorage container 1420; (iii) receiving the control signal at theshelf-located controller and, based on the control signal received atthe shelf-located controller, causing a first antenna loop of aplurality of antenna loops of the at least one shelf to be tuned to thefrequency of the RFID signal and coupled with the conductive coupling ofthe RFID signal 1430; (iv) causing the first antenna loop to decouplefrom the conductive coupling of the RFID signal 1440; (v) based on thecontrol signal received at the shelf-located controller, causing asecond antenna loop of the plurality of antenna loops to be tuned to thefrequency of the RFID signal and coupled with the conductive coupling ofthe RFID signal while the first antenna loop is tuned to the frequencyof the RFID signal 1450; and (vi) causing the first antenna loop to bedetuned from the frequency of the RFID signal 1460. The method mayfurther include causing the second antenna loop to be tuned to thefrequency of the RFID signal and emitting, via the first antenna loop, afirst electromagnetic signal based on the RFID signal while the secondantenna loop is tuned to the frequency of the RFID signal.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of various example system components inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 17 shows acommunication system 1700 including one or more accessors 1760 (alsoreferred to interchangeably herein as one or more “users”), one or moreterminals 1742 and one or more peripheral input devices 1766. Terminal1742 and peripheral input device 1766 may include, for example, elementsof systems 1110, 1120 and 1130, shown and described in conjunction withFIG. 13. In one aspect, data for use in accordance with aspectsdescribed herein may be input and/or accessed by accessors 1760 viaterminal 1742, or peripheral input device 1766, such as personalcomputers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframe computers, microcomputers,telephonic devices, or wired/wireless devices, such as personal digitalassistants (“PDAs”) and RFID readers (e.g., handheld, mobile, cabinets,etc.) coupled to a server 1743, such as a PC, minicomputer, mainframecomputer, microcomputer, or other device having a processor and arepository for data and/or connection to a repository for data, via, anetwork 1744 for instance, such as the Internet or an intranet, andcouplings 1745, 1746, 1764. The terminal 1742 and/or peripheral inputdevice 1766 may be used to read, add or scan the RFID tag to thesystems, described above. Further, the terminal 1742 peripheral inputdevice 1766 may be implemented to monitor, remove, add, scan, etc. theRFID tags of the system described above. The couplings 1745, 1746, 1764may include wired, wireless, or fiberoptic links. In another examplevariation, the method and system in accordance with aspects describedherein operate in a stand-alone environment, such as on a singleterminal.

The aspects discussed herein can also be described and implemented inthe context of computer-readable storage medium storingcomputer-executable instructions. Computer-readable storage mediaincludes computer storage media and communication media, and may be,flash memory drives, digital versatile discs (DVDs), compact discs(CDs), floppy disks, and tape cassettes. Computer-readable storage mediacan include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, modules or otherdata.

While the aspects described herein have been described in conjunctionwith the example aspects outlined above, various alternatives,modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents,whether known or that are or may be presently unforeseen, may becomeapparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art.Accordingly, the example aspects, as set forth above, are intended to beillustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Therefore, thedisclosure is intended to embrace all known or later-developedalternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/orsubstantial equivalents.

Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shownherein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with thelanguage of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singularis not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically sostated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functionalequivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughoutthis disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those ofordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by referenceand are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothingdisclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless ofwhether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claimelement is to be construed as a means plus function unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches.Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific orderor hierarchy in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged. Further,some features/steps may be combined or omitted. The accompanying methodclaims present elements of the various features/steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented.

Further, the word “example” is used herein to mean “serving as anexample, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as“example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise,the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at leastone of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or anycombination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and mayinclude multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically,combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A,B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, Bonly, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where anysuch combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, orC. Nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) storage container comprising a control unit, afirst shelf having a first plurality of antenna loops comprising a firstarray of antennas and a second shelf having a second plurality ofantenna loops comprising a second array of antennas, the RFID storagecontainer configured to: transmit, via the control unit, a first RFIDemission signal via a first transmission wire to the first shelf of theRFID storage container and a second RFID emission signal via a secondtransmission wire to the second shelf of the RFID storage container;emit, via a first antenna loop of the first array of antennas, a firstelectromagnetic signal based on the first RFID emission signal; emit,via a second antenna loop of the first array of antennas, a secondelectromagnetic signal based on the first RFID emission signal; receive,from one or more RFID tags associated with one or more correspondingproducts stored by the RFID storage container, a first responsive signalfrom the one or more RFID tags upon activation of the one or more RFIDtags by one or more of the first and second electromagnetic signals;emit, via a first antenna loop of the second array of antennas, a thirdelectromagnetic signal based on the second RFID emission signal; emit,via a second antenna loop of the second array of antennas, a fourthelectromagnetic signal based on the second RFID emission signal;receive, from one or more of the RFID tags, a second responsive signalfrom the one or more RFID tags upon activation of the one or more RFIDtags by one or more of the third and fourth electromagnetic signals; andtransmit a status of the one or more products based on the reception ofthe first response signal and the second responsive signal from the oneor more RFID tags; a remote computing device configured to: receive thestatus of the one or more products; and monitor an inventory based onthe status of the one or more products.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the first shelf is in communication with and coupled to a shelfcontroller configured to communicate with the control unit andselectively couple one or more antenna loops of the first array ofantennas with the first transmission wire.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the first transmission wire and the second transmission wire areequal in length.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the first shelf isconfigured to activate one or more RFID tags applied to products storedon either or both of the first shelf and the second shelf.
 5. The systemof claim 4, wherein the RFID storage container is configured to receivethe first responsive signal from a designated one of the RFID tags uponactivation of the designated RFID tag by one or more of the first andsecond electromagnetic signals, and to receive the second responsivesignal from the designated RFID tag upon activation of the designatedRFID tag by one or more of the third and fourth electromagnetic signals.6. The system of claim 2, wherein the first array of antennas includes aplurality of antenna loops, wherein each antenna loop of the first arrayof antennas is communicatively coupled to a switching circuit.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein a portion of each antenna loop of the firstarray of antennas overlaps with at least one other antenna loop of thefirst array of antennas.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the switchingcircuit is configured to activate a designated antenna loop of the firstarray of antennas, while at least one other antenna loop of the firstarray of antennas remains in an open circuit status.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to adjust a power levelof the RFID emission signal transmitted to the first shelf to determinea location of a given product stored on the first shelf.
 10. The systemof claim 9, wherein the control unit is further configured to variablyadjust the power level of the transmitted first RFID emission signal,and to determine a threshold readability of the one or more RFID tagslocated proximal to the first shelf.
 11. A radio frequencyidentification (RFID) storage container, comprising: a control unitconfigured to transmit a first RFID emission signal and a second RFIDemission signal via a first transmission wire and a second transmissionwire, respectively; a first shelf comprising a controller and an arrayof antennas, the first shelf being configured to: receive, at thecontroller, the first RFID emission signal from the control unit via thefirst transmission wire; emit, via the array of antennas, anelectromagnetic signal in response to receipt of the first RFID emissionsignal; receive, from one or more RFID tags associated with one or morecorresponding products stored on the first shelf, a responsive signalfrom the one or more RFID tags upon corresponding receipt of theelectromagnetic signal; and transmit to the control unit detectedresponses of the one or more products based on the response to theelectromagnetic signal, wherein the first transmission wire and thesecond transmission wire are equal in length.
 12. The RFID storagecontainer of claim 11, wherein the array of antennas includes aplurality of antennas, wherein two or more antennas of the plurality ofantennas are communicatively coupled to a switching circuit.
 13. TheRFID storage container of claim 11, wherein the control unit isconfigured to adjust a power level of the first RFID signal transmittedto the first shelf to determine a location of a given product stored onthe first shelf
 14. The RFID storage container of claim 13, wherein thecontrol unit is further configured to variably adjust the power level ofthe transmitted first RFID emission signal, and to determine a thresholdreadability of RFID tags proximal to the first shelf or a second shelf.15. A method for managing inventory, the method comprising: transmittinga first radio frequency identification (RFID) signal via a firsttransmission wire of a first conductive coupling from a control unit toa first shelf of a storage container; transmitting a second radiofrequency identification (RFID) signal via a second transmission wire ofa second conductive coupling from the control unit to a second shelf ofthe storage container; transmitting a control signal via the firstconductive coupling from the control unit to a shelf-located controllerof the first shelf of the storage container; receiving the controlsignal at the shelf-located controller of the first shelf; based on thecontrol signal received at the shelf-located controller of the firstshelf: causing a first antenna loop of a first plurality of antennaloops of the first shelf to couple with the first transmission wire ofthe first RFID signal, causing the first antenna loop of the firstplurality of antenna loops to decouple from the first transmission wireof the first RFID signal, causing a second antenna loop of the firstplurality of antenna loops to couple with the first transmission wire ofthe first RFID signal, causing the second antenna loop of the firstplurality of antenna loops to decouple from the first transmission wireof the first RFID signal; receiving the control signal at theshelf-located controller of the second shelf; and based on the controlsignal received at the shelf-located controller of the second shelf:causing a first antenna loop of a second plurality of antenna loops tocouple with the second transmission wire of the second RFID signal,causing the first antenna loop of the second plurality of antenna loopsto decouple from the second transmission wire of the second RFID signal,causing a second antenna loop of the second plurality of antenna loopsto couple with the second transmission wire of the second RFID signal,and causing the second antenna loop of the second plurality of antennaloops to decouple from the second transmission wire of the second RFIDsignal.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first transmission wireand the second transmission wire are equal in length.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, the method further comprising: emitting, via the first antennaloop of the first plurality of antenna loops, a first electromagneticsignal based on the first RFID signal when the first antenna loop of thefirst plurality of antenna loops is coupled with the first transmissionwire of the first RFID signal; and emitting, via the second antenna loopof the first plurality of antenna loops, a second electromagnetic signalbased on the first RFID signal when the second antenna loop of the firstplurality of antenna loops is coupled with the first transmission wireof the first RFID signal.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the firstRFID signal has a designated frequency range, the method furthercomprising causing the first antenna loop of the first plurality ofantenna loops to be tuned to within the designated frequency range ofthe first RFID signal, emitting the first electromagnetic signal basedon the first RFID signal, and causing the first antenna loop of thefirst plurality of antenna loops to be detuned from within thedesignated frequency range of the first RFID signal.
 19. The method ofclaim 17, the method further comprising, based on the control signalreceived at the shelf-located controller of the first shelf, causing thefirst antenna loop of the first plurality of antenna loops to be tunedto a designated frequency range of the first RFID signal, emitting thesecond electromagnetic signal via the second antenna loop of the firstplurality of antenna loops while the first antenna loop of the firstplurality of antenna loops is tuned to within the designated frequencyrange of the first RFID signal and decoupled from the first transmissionwire of the first RFID signal.
 20. The method of claim 17, the methodfurther comprising: receiving, from an RFID device associated with atleast one item stored by the first shelf, a response to one or both ofthe first electromagnetic signal emitted via the first antenna loop ofthe first plurality of antenna loops and the second electromagneticsignal emitted via the second antenna loop of the first plurality ofantenna loops; and transmitting the received response to the controlunit via the first conductive coupling of the first RFID signal.